Communicator, publicist, author, spiritual counsellor and corporate leader Ritu Bararia has come out with her book Little Joys of Communication. Here’s an interesting excerpt from it about the world of Public Relations.
The basic definition of Public Relations, as we see it, is to put forth a positive message or create positive image about a product, a brand, an organization, an individual, by using varied mediums of communication through media — be it print, electronic, and of late, social media. The discretion to use the most effective medium of publicity for a particular ‘object’ however varies.
Public Relations is all about storytelling, about creating / shaping up an image. The technological advancements in recent times have brought a transformation in conventional modes of PR as well. Public relations is still an ongoing influence that has been able to withstand the test of time. PR still remains a very exciting profession bustling with action and with so much to do all the time.
It is important to know that PR now is not only limited to writing press releases, etc. or pitching for stories only. There is a clear alignment of PR and Marketing, which makes it imperative to not only write content, but to write worthy content which indirectly leads to business enhancement, thereby contributing in revenue making. So content marketing has become the current norm.
Technology has been a major game changer for PR, which is primarily the usage of internet. More and more information is available on the internet and people are turning to the internet to read any news or content. This results in a strong focus on online content and less on print. So the content must be developed with this clear focus.
All this clearly shifts the focus of public relations to a more customer-focused structure, where the consumers play a much larger role in the manner a PR pro pitches a story to the media. This means that the PR strategies should be created with a view to hit a brand’s target segment to create a quick turnaround for the brand. It is vital for PR pros to pitch a story in such a way that the focus becomes what the target segment is hoping to read.
These are exciting times for public relations, with so much to learn from the revolution of sorts that is taking place. There is a lot of focus on visual content-Instagram, Facebook, short videos, and Pinterest. This is the future of PR.
The key is to carefully plan the visual content, depending upon the appeal it will carry on the target segment with a view to measure immediate results. How are these measured? Well, through analytics.
It will not be incorrect to say that the future of PR will have more and more dependence on analytics. Any organization that does not heed the validation of analytics will clearly be at a disadvantage. However, the good news is that there are a number of reliable analytics tools available to choose from for PR pros. We also understand that it is easier to measure ROI for anything published online than in print, as there are many sophisticated tracking tools available for online material.
All said and done, the bottom line is that public relations is here to stay as it is ever evolving with times and has become much more savvy with the growing need of the hour. Of course, storytelling and image-building will still remain a constant. But organizations need to be armed with data as a basis of dependable and influential stories in order to rise above the competition.
However, traditional PR cannot be shunned ever. So in future, there needs to be an amalgamation of traditional with modern. This is a sure shot winner.
About the book Little Joys of Communication (released by Notion Press Books):
The author being a Communication and Public Relations expert, her book is a compilation of articles — which she has written over a period of time — pertaining to this extremely vital component for every corporate house and every brand.
These articles have been written based on her own knowledge and learnings as a corporate leader. The book talks about the traditional PR and communication practices that existed when the author started her career (which spans over almost two decades) and how the practices transformed and evolved over a period of time and why it is essential to implement a mix of both.
The message is clear that although communication is a serious business, it can create a lot of joy if done rightly and with integrity.
The book talks about various types of communication, what all communication entails, the challenges faced by communicators, how communication can be improved upon, varied mediums of communication present in modern times.
The book can be of interest for established communication / PR professionals, aspiring Communicators / Publicists, and even for general readers who might find it interesting to read about the nuances of the world of communications.
The author has peppered her writing with a couple of generic articles about creating joy in the communications sector, from her viewpoint.